Q97 :You have said that a child born into an
unbelieving family must believe in Islam when he grows up into an adult
and starts thinking. Otherwise, he is answerable for being a
polytheist. Suppose that this child is born and grows up in a village
where Islam simply does not exist. He lives all his life without being
aware of Islam. Is he responsible for not beneting a Muslim?
A97 : It is the collective duty of the Muslim
netmunity throughout the world to convey the message of Islam to
mankind and to make it clear to everyone that Allah had chosen Islam as
a faith and a code of living for the human race. Therefore, everyone is
required by Allah to believe in Oneness of Allah, the Supreme Being,
and in the message of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). If there
are impediments put in the way of the Muslim netmunity to prevent it
from discharging this duty, the netmunity is expected to do everything
in its power to remove these impediments. It is the right of every
human being to learn about Islam and to receive its message. If some
people go through life without knowing about Islam or that they are
required by Allah to believe in it, Allah will not hold them to account
for not being Muslims. We have to remember that Allah is the most just
of judges. Hence, He would not make any person accountable for not
believing in something about which he knows nothing. When we say that
everyone is required to think and consider and choose his faith, we
have in mind someone who has the means to know about different creeds
and faiths and who has the ability to distinguish what is true from
what is false. A person whom Allah has endowed with sound mind and
given him education and opened to him the ways to learn about His
message which is addressed to all mankind, is certainly responsible if
he fails to make an intelligent choice or decides not to bother about
the whole issue of faith and believing in Allah. It is such a person
with whom we are concerned and whom we call upon to believe in the
Oneness of Allah and in the message of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon
him).
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )